EU countries are among the world’s leading consumers of non-GMO soy. However, they only manage to cover around 40% of this demand through local production. The main sources of imported non-GMO soy are Brazil (certified non-GMO soy) and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Serbia, and others. This was shared by Anastasia Radiuk, Quality Manager and coordinator of the “Protein Partnership” project at the Danube Soy Association, during the international “Baltic Grains & Oils Conference” held on April 16 in Riga.
As for soybean meal, the EU is currently the third-largest consumer globally. In the 2023/24 MY, EU countries are expected to consume around 26.7 million tons. Only China (77.2 million tons) and the United States (35 million tons) have higher consumption levels.
Radiuk pointed out that, according to expert estimates, soybean meal consumption in the EU is expected to increase to around 28.3 million tons in the 2024/25 MY. The growth will be driven by rising poultry meat production and a recovery in the pig farming sector.
The top consumers of soybean meal in the EU for the current season are expected to be Spain -4.5 million tons, Italy - 3.6 million tons, Poland- 3.1 million tons, France- 3.4 million tons, and Germany- 3 million tons. Together, these countries account for around 60% of total soybean meal consumption in the EU.
As for non-GMO soybean meal in the EU-27, its total consumption in 2023 was estimated at 2.6 to 2.8 million tons. The majority of this (over 80%) is used by poultry and dairy farming enterprises.
According to Danube Soy, the top 10 consumers of non-GMO soybean meal include Germany (850,000 tons), Serbia (440,000 tons), Italy (350,000 tons), Norway (275,000 tons), Switzerland (259,000 tons), France and Denmark (250,000 tons each), Austria (200,000 tons), Sweden (173,000 tons), and the Benelux countries (150,000 tons).
